Signaling mechanism



Aug.' my 1932. c. B. BARTLEY p@ SIGNALING MECHANISM Filed Deo. so, 195o Patented ug. 16, 1932 rin-iran STATES PATENT foreros CHARLES B. BARTLEY, OFPITTSIBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA sIGlTALING MnciIANIsM Application iled December '30, 1930. SerialjNo. 505,495.

My invention relates toA an improvement in house numbering and signaling devices, and more particularly to a device of such character adapted to be arranged inthe ordinary electric door bell current supplying circuit.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a signalingdevice of the character rreferred to which is inexpensive to manufacture, dependable in operation, and adapted to diflicult to i@ be installe-d with comparative ease.

A further object is to provide a house num# bering device having therein illuminating units which maybe connected in a simpler fashion in the ordinary door bell current supplying circuit, and, in addition, is equipped With detachable and adjustable numbering elements whereby adapting the device to be mounted either vertically. or horizontally and at the same time permitting the user Another object is yto provide for automati-V cally and effectively indicating to the user when the lamps employed forilluminating the sign are burned out. i

Numerous other objects as Well as other novel features and advantages of the invention Will become more apparent when the following detailed description is read'in conjunction `With the accompanying' drawing, wherein Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2. a` longitudinal cross section of the same taken `on the line 1141i of F ig. 1; Fig. 3 a vertical section taken on the line III- III of Fig'. 2; Fig. 4 a plan view of a number unit; Fig. 5 a schematic Wiring diagram ofthe lamps and bell circuits; and Fig. 6 a diagram `similar to that shown in Fig; 5 of a modified circuit.

Referring more particularly to the drawj ing, the modification of the invention yillustrated comprises an outer metallic housing consisting of a outer and inner sections and 2. The inner of these sections forms the base of the device,`

adapted to be se-v and, Vin addition to being cured to or in the side of a building, has a plurality of elongate openings 3 cut in. its center fory the reception of the electrical conductors employed in the cuits and arranged in alignment through the vided atits opposite ends vvithindents whichA thereof to readily change the numbers at Will.Y

pair of telescopically fitting' bell and `lamp cir-v center of the bottom'of the section to facili.-V

tate the entering of the conductors into the housing.rv The outer or cover section 1 ofthe housing fits over the inner sectionandis pro# are 'adaptedfto register with and engage in, 55 slots 5 cut ,in the ends ofthe bas'ewhen the coveris in position and positively hold it in place. By reason of this arrangementitis i remove the covervvithoutv the aid of atool developed for' thatpurpose. Y i Inside of the`base section 2 there is ar-l ranged a trough-like channel section 6 which is made of any suitable metal'adapted to re. siliently resist deformation from its-norma] shape, `and is either highly polished on its inner surface or coated with a suitable lightreflecting material to function as a reiiector. for the lamps'employed in the device. The upper edges of this channel section are proi vided With grooves 7 and 8 Which are utilizedl for the reception of the numbering units 9. These units, as is shown particularly in F ig. 4, are preferably made square in contour and slightly Wider than `the top vof the trough 6.V To arrange them in the sign, their edges arel `inserted in the grooves 7 and 8` and they areV then forced edgevvise into the trough,` forming thereby a cover over its upper side,l and by reason of their greater Width than the top 86 ofthetrough and the resilient character of4 the trough,'vvhen the sides of the `trough are forced apart bytheyinsertion of the number! ing elements, the'latter are firmly'V held in place in the trough. When in place,`,as indicated in Fig. 2, by reason of thevvidth of each of the numbering units they are adapted to register with openings 11 provided in y the` top of the outer-.section 1 of the housing for their reception. lThese openings preferably are round in shape, as shown, andthe nu.rn. beringrelcments are Vprovided With a circularV raised portion 12 which just fits into the open- On the face ofthe raised section 12 there is l provided a visible number l() formed in each unit, and this is preferably of aftranslucent character While the remainder of the Aelement* opaque material, or coated With suchmale@ from the exterior in the daytime, particuof', theV trough larly without the aid of inward illumination.

VBy reason of thenumber` units being made square in shape and the number-supporting portion 0f they untsbeng; circular in ferm, as is obvious, the numbers may be arranged in the sign to read either crosswiseor length- ,v

Wise and accordingly permit the sign to be mounted either vertically or horizontally.

For illuminating thenumbers of the sign a plurality of lamps 14 are mounted Within the troughv 6. For securing these lampsin place,

`a metallic strip 15isprovided and attached tooneside 'of the trough.` At spaced intervals along" the length of this 'strip 'threaded' openings VY16 arel struck out of the strip vand adapted to receive the threaded sleeves forming the base of the lamps. lBetween the strip 15, andthe side of the trough there is' arranged a strip of insulatingmaterial 17 for insulating the conductor strip 15 Vfrom the body o'fthe trough.` Y'lhispiece of` insulation andv the conductor strip are both secured to the side ofthe troughin the particular embodiment of the invention shown by means of aA plurality ofrivets 18 and 19.' rlhe rivets 18 are extended through the strips 1 5 and 17 and the two, strips thereby rigidlyl held together. Rivets 19 are extended through the strip 17 andthe side of the trough to rigidlyhold'the united strips in place.

.To prevent-the; stripY cally conn 15 from being electri-y openings 20, indicated by the dotted lines in out o f the side of the trough 1g25 'are Struck opposite these rivets, and, in the same man; Iier., Openings f about the rivets 18 so that these rivets will not make contact between the strip andthe.

sidclO thejtrough. With this'arrangement the stride of the trough itself' w/hen'grounde'd'V functions vas one side of the circuit employed for lighting the lamp and other'placing the lampsin parallel circuitrelation therebetween.

into the strip 15 and through openings in the For providing a ringing circuit videdvin thev housingzof the numbering'. de-

metallic. strip 22whichissccured toone side bntton 23 which is adapted ected tothe side fof the trough,

21 are struclrout of the strip 15.,

the strip 15 as the y The lamps when ar rangedin place forillurnination are' screwed strip 17 registering with the openings in the, engagement with the side of the. trough, placingthem in parallel circuit re;l

Thisswitch comprises; a resilientV 6 and carries upon it fa pushA toextendthrough.; anopening inthe cover ligand, as shown 1,871,65o l i f1 fconductorsemp'loyed in the, electrical circuitsupplying current to the door bell and lamp, a pair 'of Vsnap-type `wire-engaging elements 27 and 28 are mounted one on the sideof the troughY 6 and the other'upon the end of the strip. 15 .opposite thereto. This latter, as shown in, Fig.- 3, may be equipped with anA upwardly entendingl vprog ection 'functioning also as theV contact member 25 'for engaging the bell switchl i v 'y In order to facilitate the wiringof the device, an inwardly projecting groove 29 is preferably formed in thel bottom of vthe trough 6 in-such a fashion as to forma tunnel over the slotted openings 3 in the bottom of the base 2, whereby the conductors may be readily carried through the bottom ofthe housing tothe end thereofwhere they are attached tothe contactors 27 and 28.

For illuminating the lamps and providing current. for the door bell, an ordinary door bell transformer 31, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, may be employed. The primary windings 32 are connected inthe customary fashion to the house supply line, while the secondary v vindingsv 33 may have one of their ends 34 `theQmagneti'c windings of this re ay a conductor 41is connected to one side of the bell switchf 22. From the lother vside of the bell switch the. circuit is connected to the ground,

1 or, in other words, to the side of the trough.

' The kobject ofthe underload relay 40'Yis to Vprovide 4means for indicating whenone or more of the lampsV 14 are burned out. To attain thisobj ective the current supply to the lamps is provided by `a circuit extending from the windings 39 of theJ relay 40 through its e armature 427,. which is normally heldv inv a circuit closingposition when the lamps are all inserted, through a conductor 43 and a y switchk 44 to the conductor strip 15, the con- Y y Y for .the door bell, a rswitch is employed which is prog '69.

vice.,

ing 45 is. provided.. to operate upona core, 46

lao.

` Led-1,656

to whichv the bridging member ofthe switch 44 is attached. connected by conductors 47 through a manually operable switch 48 with the house light# lng circuit, not shown, whereby when the switch 48 is closed the switch 44 will be automatically closed when the lights are turned on in the house, and allowed,y to `fall open when they are turned off, and by 'means of which arrangement the lamps in the switch would be disconnected in the daytimewhen the house was not lighted, and connected lin the night time when the lights were on.v

If it is desired to dispense with the automatic feature provided by the solenoid 45 and the circuit connected to it, switch 48 may be opened and bridging member 44 forced closed by a cam p below the bridging member 44, which, when rotated to its central position, forces the bridging members into contact with the contactors of the switch 44. V Y A further feature of the circuit is the provision about the actuating windings 35 of the bell 36 of a reactance coil 51 value of impedance of sucha character that it will permit sutlicient current to flow through it normally to properly light the lamps 12 while at the same time ypreventing suicient current to flow through thewindings 35 to vibrate or in any way actuate the vibrator 37. The value of this impedance, however, is made *such that when the bell switch 22 is depressed, and, as will be observed, the lamps thereby shunted, it will permit suiiicient current to pass through the bell circuit to effect the operation of the bell. In operation, when'current is Vapplied to the primary windings of the transformer 3l, a circuit through the signal lamps lis provided by closingthe switch 44 either electrically or by means of thecam actuator 49 and manually moving the armature 42 of the relay 40 to its circuit-closing position or else by depressing the switch 22 to energize the windings 39 of the relay 40 and thereby move the armature 42 into its closed position. When these switches are closed, a circuit extends from the secondary windings 33 of the transformer through the bell 36 and the reactance coil 37, `the windings 39 of the relay 40, the armature 42, conductor 43, lswitch 44, conductor strip 15 and through the lamps, and thence by way of the trough 6 to the ground and the lamps are thus lighted. To ring the bell the switch 22 is depressed, and, as referred to hereinbefore, the depression of this switch forms a shunt circuit about the lamps 12 inasmuch as the windings 39 of the relay are connected directly to one side of the switch, and the resistancel of the circuit thereby reduced to such an extent that suflicient current will be drawn through the actuating windings 35 of the'bell to effect the vibration of the`vibrator37 and cause These windings are in turn' device 49 pivotally mountedV that has al will allow the armature the circuit to all lofthe lamps and thereby darken the sign. Y

In the modification of the invention'illustrated in Fig. 6, a condenser 52 is connected between the the ground, that it will operation of the circuit What-ever. -But upon the occurrence in the secondary windings 33 of a voltage value in excess of that which may be safely applied tothelamps, it will function as a shunt circuit for protecting the lamps such as may be particularly desirable when the current is first applied to the primary transformer 31, or a short circuit may occur in that circuit, thereby causing an undesirable fluctuation of the current and volt'- age value in the system".

A furtherfeature of the modification shown inFig; 6 is that the automatic connecting equipment is dispensed with and in place thereof a circuit comprising a conductor 53 is provided which constitutes a shunt about the switch 22 and is adapted to cause the bell to ring whenever the underload relay 40 falls open. With such arrangement, whenever one of the lamps 12 burns out and thereby due to the reduction in current'caused by it allows the relay 40 `to fall open, thev bell -will be continuously rung and indicate very eectivelyV thatv one or more of the lamps-in the signal has-been burned out.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in .the art that I have provided a very simple and is provided with such a value linexpensive Vconstruction which is adapted to form avery elfective and attractive numbering device, and that by reason of thenovel circuits provided in the ringing and illuminating circuits ofthe bell and lamps that I have adequately protected'the lamps in such a way as to-aiord long life as well as effective means for indicating the presence in lamp side of the reactor 51 and normallyhave no effect upon the the device of any faults such as are incurred c by the burning out of any of the lamps.

According to the provisions ofthe patent statutes,I have explainedthe principle and mode of operation of my invention, and have illustrated and described vwhat I now consider to represent its desire to have it understood-that, within the scope of the appendedclaims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.`

best embodiment. However,

light reflector ringing i a plurality of uniformly shaped openings .housing formed by a pair of telescopically fitting sections the upper of which constitutes a coverfor the device and has a plurality of spaced uniformly shaped openings provided therein, a channel shaped supporting ymember detachably mounted within said housing, a plurality ofadjustable and interchangeable character Ybearing Y elements detachably mountedin said support member and fitted in said cover openings, a lamp' mounted '1n said support, and means for supplying` 1lluminating current to said lamp to light up said character bearing elements.

3; A combination house numbering and bell device comprising a housing having in its upper face, a supporting member hav ing a light-reflecting surface detachably ar` ranged within it, a pluralityof lamps se cured to said support, a plurality of trans-A lucent adjustable and interchangeable 'character bearings elementsvmounted in thel support and extended through: the openings in the upper face of the housing, means .for connecting said lampsto a current supplying circuit, and a door bell ringing lswitc mounted in saidhousing and connected to shunt said lamps from their current supply when it is closed.Vv

Y.4. An illuminated house` signaling device comprising a combined elongate/lamp supporting and light reflecting member Vhaving an electriclamp mounted therein, means for connecting saidlamp in a current circuit, a cover for said reflector provided with a pluralitygof uniformly shaped and similarly spaced openings in it for the reception of character bearing units, and a plurality ofV interchangeable translucent character bearingunits constructed to detachably fit in said cover openings for reading either at right angles toer in line with the longitudinalaxis of said supporting member;

5. A house numbering device comprising a combined channel shaped lamp support and having an electric lamp mounted therein, a plurality of interchangeable translucent character bearing units having raised centers and parallel sides slidably engaged in grooves in the edges of said channel member,and a cover jfor said device con-` structed to t lover said support and pro,-

vided with openings in it for receiving the Supplying raised portions of said characters,v said openings andy said 2character mounted at eitherl right angles tojor parallel POF-i?- i: 6.v yilluminated housey signaling `device comprising an elongatechannel shaped sup# porting and light reflecting member, a plurality', ofv haracter bearing imits having parallel edges and4 round raised `translucent centers detachably and interchangeably mounted in-grooves provided in the upper edges of said channel shaped supportingV member, an electric lamp arranged between Vthe reflector member and said character units,

and a cover adapted'to fit over said supporting and reflecting member and provided with spaced' round openings therein for the reception of the raised portions of said character units. y Y z 7. A house numbering device comprising a housing formed by a pair of telescopically fit# ting sections the upper of which constitutes 'a cover'for the device and `vhasfa pluralityrof spaced uniformly shaped openings provided therein,l a channel shaped supporting lmember detachably mounted within said housing, a pluralityof adjustable and interchangeable characters bearing elements detachably mounted in said supportmember and fitted in said cover openings, a lamp mounted in saidsupport, the baseof said `channel inem-V ber being transversely. arched inwardly to permit wires to be disposed between it and the base of the housing, and means for supplying illuminatingcurren't to said lamp to light up said character bearing elements.

8. A house numbering device comprising a housing formedby a pairof' telescopically fitting sections the upper of which constitutes acover for the device and has a plurality of spaced uniformly shapedopenings provided therein, a channel shaped supporting mem-` ber deteachably mounted within said housf. ing, a pluraiity.A of adjustable and interchangeable. character bearing elements detachably mounted in said supportfmember and fittedinsaidrcoverV openings, a lamp mounted in said support, the base of said channel member beingqtransversely arched inwardlyto permitwires to ybe disposed between itand the lbase of the housing, said housing having a plurality-of apertures in its base whereby to admit wires at anydesired point, and means for supplying illuminating current to said lamp to light up said character bearing elements. i

V9. 'A house numbering device comprising a housing formed by a pair of telescopically litt-ing sections the upper-of which constitutes bearing units being Vso formedA as to permit" the latter being plurality of adjustable and interchangeable character bearing elements detachably mounted in said support member and tted in said cover openings, a bell switch mounted in said support and having an operating button tted in one of said cover openings, a lamp mounted in said support in shunt circuit relation with said bell switch, and means for supplying illuminating current to said circuit to light up said character bearing elements.

10. A combination house number and bell ringing device comprising a housing having a plurality of uniformly shaped openings in its upper face, a supporting member having a light-reiiecting surface detachably arranged within it, a plurality of lamps secured t0 said supportand having one terminal insulated therefrom` a plurality of translucent adjustable, and interchangeable character bearing elements mounted in the support and extending through the openings in the upper face of the housing, a current supply circuit for a. door bell and said lamps, a door bell ringing switch mounted in said housing with one contact connected to said support and the other to said insulated lamp terminals whereby to provide means for shunting said lamps from their current supply when the bell switch is closed to prevent excessive amounts of current from passing through them when the switch is opened.

In testimony whereof, I sign my name.

CHARLES B. BARTLEY. 

